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CANNIBAL CORPSE Bassist Says New Album Has ‘A Lot More Variety’

Bassist Alex Webster of Florida-based death metal veterans CANNIBAL CORPSE spoke to U.K.’s Metal Hammer magazine about the band’s forthcoming twelfth studio album, which the band began recording at the end of the summer at Sonic Ranch studios in Texas with producer Erik Rutan.

“I can’t tell you the album title or the songtitles or what the artwork’s gonna look like,” Alex said. “The artwork will be a bit more like what we were known for in the past and a bit less subtle than the last two albums. They were fairly subtle by CANNIBAL CORPSE standards. The lyrics on this record are pretty much what we’re known for and the title is not going to be a huge shocker for anyone either. Music-wise, there has been a pretty interesting development on this record. I’ve been one of the main writers on the last few records, and on ‘Evisceration Plague’ I wrote seven whole songs — lyrics and music — and another half of another song plus lyrics for ‘Scalding Hail’, which Rob [Barrett, guitar] and me did together. So I did a lot, but this time round I wanted Pat [O’Brien, guitar] and Rob to get involved a little more and I was afraid that by writing so much, they were so busy learning my stuff that they hadn’t been able to focus on writing their own stuff.”

He continued, “I had another recording project going on anyhow, so I decided to lay off the writing a little. In the end, Pat wrote four songs and Rob wrote three, so there’s a much more even division of songwriting and a lot more variety on this record. It’s still CANNIBAL CORPSE-style death metal, but there are more different flavors. Rob and Pat are very talented writers so they should contribute a lot! They’re a great resource and we want to have them contribute as much as they can. Rob‘s songs are the three best songs he’s written for us, I think.”

Erik Rutan worked with CANNIBAL CORPSE for both “Kill” (2006) and “Evisceration Plague” (2009) and is returning for a third time. Rutan previously stated, “I am super-excited to work with CANNIBAL CORPSE for our third album together. We are determined to make the best album we possibly can. Everyone is very focused and the new material is awesome. There is a great blend of classic, old-school CANNIBAL CORPSE with a newer, more heavy, dynamic and aggressive approach. I look forward to the challenge of making one heavy-as-hell record!”

CANNIBAL CORPSE‘s latest album, “Evisceration Plague”, sold 9,600 copies in the United States in its first week of release. This was more than 50 percent higher than the opening tally of the band’s previous CD, “Kill” (2006), which landed at No. 170 after shifting more than 6,000 copies. In 1996, CANIBAL CORPSE‘s “Vile” premiered at No. 151, with more than 6,100 copies sold.

“Global Evisceration”, the fourth DVD from CANNIBAL CORPSE, sold around 900 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 17 on the Top Music Videos chart. The disc also landed at No. 5 on the Canadian chart.

Released on March 15 via Metal Blade Records, “Global Evisceration” was shot and edited by director Denise Korycki (Wild Wind Productions) who also worked on the group’s “Centuries of Torment – The First 20 Years” DVD in addition to releases from such other bands as AS I LAY DYING, MASTODON, KILLSWITCH ENGAGE and SUPERJOINT RITUAL.

“Global Evisceration” contains one disc and is approximately three hours long with artwork by the infamous Vince Locke. The main program includes full live-song performances from two live shows: the Gothic Theater in Englewood, Colorado on May 3, 2010 and Sunshine Theater in Albuquerque, New Mexico on May 8, 2010. It also contains bonus performances and extra segments, including behind-the-scenes footage covering CANNIBAL CORPSE‘s tours in support of the “Evisceration Plague” album.